Paul Klimos is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Freedom and Prosperity Center. He is a lawyer, lecturer in law, and angel investor, currently serving as special counsel at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. In his legal practice, he guides entrepreneurs through all stages of their ventures—from ideation to exit—and advises investors on structuring, deploying, and managing investments across industries, stages, and jurisdictions.
Previously, Klimos served as general counsel at a venture-backed technology company specializing in zero-knowledge proofs for privacy and security applications and has practiced at leading global law firms in Silicon Valley. Earlier in his career, he held legal and compliance roles at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and at the Central Bank of Lebanon, where he co-founded and led a legal research and intelligence unit focused on technology governance and regulatory frameworks.
Klimos has authored numerous publications at the intersection of law, technology, and policy, and is a frequent speaker on the legal and regulatory challenges surrounding entrepreneurship and emerging technologies. He has held multiple roles with the World Economic Forum (WEF), including membership in the Global Future Councils, the Expert Network, and the Global Shapers Community. He has contributed to key WEF strategic projects, including the TradeTech Initiative, which aims to digitize global trade and promote inclusive economic growth, and the Group of Twenty (G20) Digital Agenda cross-presidency working group, which provided a blueprint for advancing cohesive and resilient digital trade policies across successive G20 presidencies.
Furthermore, Klimos serves on the advisory board of iPark, the innovation and entrepreneurship hub of the American University of Beirut that supports startups and promotes innovation across the Middle East.
Additionally, Klimos is an alumnus of the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program and the European Union Visitors Programme. He is a 40 Under 40 awardee and a BMW Foundation responsible leader. Klimos is also a Knight of the Order of Malta, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Constantinian Order of Saint George.
